Child Cancer Awareness Month, CCAW, takes place annually during September and is designed not only to raise awareness of childhood cancers but also to honour those who are battling the disease.

Cancer is one of the cruellest of diseases and to see children battling it can be heartbreaking. The main problem with childhood cancers is that there are often no stand alone symptoms you can identify, which means many sufferer's conditions are well advanced by the time the diagnosis is made.

Every year, thousands of children are diagnosed with cancer and the effect it has, not only on their lives, but on those around them, is profound. If you weren't aware that CCAW existed, then we thought it was high time that this event started to receive more recognition. Please read on to find out more about the event itself and how you can help.

Ribbons

In the same way the pink ribbon symbolises breast cancer awareness, the gold ribbon represents awareness of child cancer. Unlike the pink ribbons, the gold ones tend to be worn by parents who have lost a child to cancer. Millions around the globe are still ignorant of the fact that cancer is the number one cause of children's deaths in the civilised world, and the fact there are often few tell tale signs or symptoms it is even harder to digest.

The Cancers Themselves

Children shouldn't die before their parents; fact. Yet far too many young bodies succumb to cancer every year. Leukaemia, Neuroblastoma, Lymphoma; these are all words that children will have a hard time getting their tongues around but they are all killers. Raising awareness of childhood cancer is a must. The more research that is carried out the more symptoms will be discovered and more lives will be saved thanks to an early diagnosis.

Did You Know?

While this is a massive event in the US, in a survey held in 2014, over half the UK population didn't even realise that September WAS Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. So, it seems people need to be made aware that the event actually exists as well as of the cancer itself! The Children with Cancer UK website is a great source of information for everyone, not least parents who may be trying to come to terms with the fact their own child has been recently diagnosed with the disease.

There are many ways you can fundraise to help the research into childhood cancers. Check out the 17 unique fundraising ideas you could use to start supporting a children's cancer charity.